Southern California - Update on Mandeville Canyon Road Rage case

I'm pretty disappointed they didnt try to get him for attempted manslaughter. :mad:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=6300779#bodyText%23bodyText

Hello,

My wife is a criminal defense attorney and she thinks that Dr. Thompson has been UNDER charged in this case. My wife also said that cyclists need to turn out in increasing numbers for EVERY court proceeding and that we should talk to the press freely. I will go as much as possible myself.

Dr. Thompson's next court appearance will be his arraignment which is scheduled for Sep 12th at LAX Superior Court.

My criminal defense attorney wife says that this guy needs PRISON TIME -- PERIOD!

I agree, I will attend whichever court proceedings I can make. We need to get this rage filled ******* off the street before he strikes again.

What about a civil action?

How about a sniper?

How about a sniper?

Even that would be an easy way out for him... I want him to face jail time where he can get up-close and personal with bubba.

I'm pretty disappointed they didnt try to get him for attempted manslaughter. :mad:


By definition, one cannot "attempt" manslaughter, because manslaughter does not require specific intent, or a premeditative state of mind for its commission. Manslaughter is the result of a grossly negligent circumstance, or committed in a "heat of passion" situation. If either of the individuals had died as a result of the drivers actions, there would be a possible charge for manslaughter, but it would be a contradiction for one to "intend" to be grossly negligent or enraged.

By definition, one cannot "attempt" manslaughter, because manslaughter does not require specific intent, or a premeditative state of mind for its commission. Manslaughter is the result of a grossly negligent circumstance, or committed in a "heat of passion" situation. If either of the individuals had died as a result of the drivers actions, there would be a possible charge for manslaughter, but it would be a contradiction for one to "intend" to be grossly negligent or enraged.

Sorry, i'm no lawyer, I guess I used the wrong jargon. I meant attempted murder. The doctor acted deliberately/intentionally and recklessly with extreme disregard for human life. He attempted to kill these two bikers because he took a deliberate and substantial step (veering in front of the bikers and slamming his brakes at speed) with intent of causing serious/grave harm to these people.

The mens rea (Latin for the "guilty mind") for murder includes an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm where there is a high probability of death resulting, whereas attempted murder depends on an intention to kill, and an overt act towards the homicide. Attempted murder is only the planning of a murder and acts taken towards it, not the actual killing, which is the murder.

I hope the judge sees that if they simply rule this as a battery charge with serious bodily injury, it's a slippery slope to making it a less serious charge if you simply cause people bodily harm with your vehicle. :mad:

No doubt overt acts are an indication of intent. But do you seriously believe the driver "intended to kill" these two cyclists?? There certainly is the appearance of intentional disregard for life likely to cause serious bodily injury, but trying to prove, from an evidnetiary standpoint, that the driver intended, that is had the requisite state of mind, to kill the cyclists would be an extremely difficult task.

No doubt overt acts are an indication of intent. But do you seriously believe the driver "intended to kill" these two cyclists?? There certainly is the appearance of intentional disregard for life likely to cause serious bodily injury, but trying to prove, from an evidnetiary standpoint, that the driver intended, that is had the requisite state of mind, to kill the cyclists would be an extremely difficult task.

Your position is understandable, I am not saying it's as simple as 1+1=2 that his action and the result proves his intent. But just imagine the situation as it occured... and what any normal person would believe the outcome to be.

What I mean is that Imagine you are in Dr. Thompson's place... you are driving a large and heavy sedan down a steeply graded hill. You pull up to a pair of bikers and they tick you off for some reason... so you decide to cut them off and slam on your brakes. What is the outcome that a reasonable person would expect? You have two bikers cruising down a hill at a brisk 35-40mph and a huge hunk of metal cuts them off and comes to a full stop. Anyone will tell you that a car can stop MUCH faster than a bike can stop, factor in the response time for the bikers and you have a hairy situation. Two lightweight bikers hit this static hunk of metal at approximately 40mph, for sure they will suffer serious bodily injury but given the physics of the situation and the fragility of the human body it is quite reasonable to assume that death could result on impact or from the extent of the bodily injury.

See what I mean?

I'm well aware of what you mean, and I'm not attempting to in anyway detract from the seriousness of the situation. But please realize that the judge, prosecuter, and defense attorney are all experienced professionals, and recognize the practical aspects of trying to apply the academic theory to the situation. Now that you are knowledgeable about mens rea, I'm sure you have a better understanding of the situation as well.

There's a pretty good video here.

http://video.knbc.com/player/?id=281913

No big surprise. *shrug. The comments will follow the standard "those damn cyclists, bla bla bla".

This was on the front page of the LA times web site this morning.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bikers12-2008dec12,0,147065.story

Thanks for the update.

So he's out on bail? I assume he's still living on Mandeville Canyon and probably still driving through there? Just knowing that he's still out there scares me going up there.

I might head out to the court then. Someone that pulled a stunt like this should not get off easy.

Anyone have a schedule for the court dates?

This was on the front page of the LA times web site this morning.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bikers12-2008dec12,0,147065.story

Umm...a whole other side of the story??? Nothing, absolutely nothing justifies driving like an idiot and putting people's lives at risk. There is no acceptable excuse and his attorney seems full of **** trying to justify Thompson's actions.

I'm with you.
how can there be "another side to this story".
There is no excuse for endangering the lives of people. None.
I just hope they have a civil suit and bankrupt the D*ckwad....

Hi,

If anyone is interested in going to his next trial date let me know. My wife should be able to find out the next date.

Hi,

If anyone is interested in going to his next trial date let me know. My wife should be able to find out the next date.
I'm interested. Don't know if I will be able to go for sure but will try. I'd like to be able to ride up Mandeville without having to worry about this guy.

Anyone up for showing up in gear? :p

I'm with you.
how can there be "another side to this story".
There is no excuse for endangering the lives of people. None.
I just hope they have a civil suit and bankrupt the D*ckwad....

I don't think that there really is another side to the story, especially since a police officer has already testified that the driver was trying to "teach them a lesson". It's all BS legal maneuvering to minimize his sentence. I think the driver should be charged with attempted murder, but that isn't happening.

I hope the guy pays with a big fat jail sentence, but no matter what happens this is evidence of how a bad situation can escalate quickly. I've had run-ins with drivers where a driver escalated a situation that wasn't a big deal, and I've also been the one who escalated the situation. Cooler heads usually prevail, and hopefully go uninjured to ride another day. Be safe out there guys.

Hi,

If anyone is interested in going to his next trial date let me know. My wife should be able to find out the next date.

Why don't you post the date and time here. I'm sure a lot of people are interested. Let's all pile up in the courtroom and make the evening news.;)

If an adult is arrested for allegedly committing a sex act with a minor or attempting too then that person, even while awaiting trial, is almost always prohibited frm any contact with minors. I wonder if this doctor has been prohibited from driving his car while the trial takes place.
I hope this guy does jail time but my guess is in LA county he wont serve more than 30 days.

That's simply attorney's doing what attorney's do best...cover up the truth in a sea of lies, confuse the facts, etc. Law, & order, truth, and justice are irrelevant. It's all about getting the client off any way possible.

Umm...a whole other side of the story???...

If an adult is arrested for allegedly committing a sex act with a minor or attempting too then that person, even while awaiting trial, is almost always prohibited frm any contact with minors. I wonder if this doctor has been prohibited from driving his car while the trial takes place.
I hope this guy does jail time but my guess is in LA county he wont serve more than 30 days.

I wondered the same thing last night after reading the article. He obviously doesn't care about the safety of cyclists so it makes me scratch my head why they would allow him out on bail considering he lives along the road where he's hurt people. I mean, sometimes special considerations should be enforced. Such as being behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and forcing him to have someone else drive until after his trial. It's not like he didn't already openly confess his own guilt without remorse.

And what about the Hippocratic Oath that doctors are supposed to take? Yet this nutball is out there huting people instead of helping them? What a sorry excuse for a human being.

Simply going to the trial is one way, how about other political means? What do the big boys do?

Simply going to the trial is one way, how about other political means? What do the big boys do?

Civil Trial. Take the doctor for all he's worth.

The criminal trial should permanently revoke his medical and driver's licenses and impose a healthy fine (5% of current net worth) to cover the costs associated with the conviction.

The civil trial should be able to take most everything else the Dr. owns...

I actually do not want him going to prison... His prison time costs me money and I think alienation from polite society seems an appropriate punishment for this guy.

I actually do not want him going to prison... His prison time costs me money and I think alienation from polite society seems an appropriate punishment for this guy.
Worth it to keep this guy off the streets...plus he'll probably be paying for a fair share of it.